Improvement in railway-tank apparatus



G. B. THU'RBBR. I Railway-Tank Apparatus,

No 215,413; Ptented May 13,1879.

NJETERS. PHOTO-LITNUGRAPHER. WASHINGTON D c.

UNI ED STATES PATENT OFIGE.

I GEORGE B. THURBER, or PToN, QUEBEC, CANADA, ASSIGNOR T0 JOHN ADOLPHUSTHURBER, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAY-TANK APPARAT US.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 215,413, dated May 13,1879; application filed February 25, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

BER, of the village of Upton, in the county of Bagot, Province ofQuebec, and Dominion of Canada, contractor, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Railway-Tank Apparatus; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings.

The object of my invention is to provide a more perfect means than anyhitherto in use for supplying water to the tenders of locomotives atstations, by constructing the supplypipe in the simplest and mostefficient manner, with auniversal joint at the end next the tank, and byarranging the valves so asto drain the pipes by the action of shuttingthe supply-valve. By this means the water can be delivered into thetenders with equal facility and expedition whatever may be theirrelative height with regard to the tank, and without requiring theirrespective positions to be exactly adjusted; also, the danger ofbursting the pipes in winter is obviated by the self-acting arrangementof the escape-valve, thus renderin g the drainage of the pipesindependent of the care of the attendan In the drawings, Figure-l is avertical section of the water-tank fitted with my new improvements; Fig.2, a section of the universal joint and valves fdetached, and Fig. 3 aplan of the whole apparatus.

Letter A represents the tank; B, a pipe for heating the water by a stoveduring winter; 0, the valve for supplying water to tenders; D, pipe withdouble valve-seats; a, rod to work the supply valve 0 by a lever orotherwise, extending outside the tank; I), a valve arranged at lower endof pipe D for drainage. This valve is connected with the valve 0 by therod 0, so that when the one valve is closed the other is open. The valve1), however, which may be of any suitable form, dimensions, orconstruction, may be disconnected and secured to its seat, so as to beavailable for drainage only when required during winter.

The pipe D is formed with an elbow-branch, the upper surface of which,at d, is turned and faced truly to form a water-tight connection for theuniversal joint E, which is held in place by the groove and pin 0, atthe same time allowing for motion freely'in the horizontal plane.

The universal joint E is of a cylindrical form, and is turned and facedtruly in the lathe on its periphery and ends, and is also bored to fitthe end at of the supply-pipe D. It is also formed with a square oroblong opening, f, in its exterior periphery, of an area cor respondingto that of the supply-pipe, and also with cylindrical projections g g oneach face, fitted to receive the arms F F, for connecting the movabledelivery-pipe G with the fixed supply-pipe D.

The inner end of the delivery-pipe G is faced truly to fit water-tightto the periphery of the cylindrical piece E, and, to prevent lateraldisplacement, is provided -with projections h h, fitting tightly to, butadapted to move freely on, the faces of the cylindrical piece E.

By these arrangements it will be seen that the delivery-pipe G iscapable of free and unrestricted motion, both horizontally andvertically, while at the same time preserving a Water tight connectionwith the fixed supply-pipe D, thereby admitting of the delivery of waterto the tenders without leakage or straining of the parts, whateverposition the tender may occupy with regard to the tank, provided it iswithin the range of the deliverypipe horizontally or vertically; also,by the self-acting arrangement of the drainage-valve, it will be seenthat no danger can arise from the freezing of the pipes during winter.

Having thus fully described the nature of my inventions, What I claim asnew, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows, v1z:

In combination with a railway-station water-tank, having a pipe, D, forthe supply of Water attached thereto, a universal joint conmy own Iaffix my signatufe in presence of two necting' the fixed supply-pipe Dwith the mov- Witnesses.

able delivery-pipe Gr, said joint being formed Montreal, 27th August,1878. by the piece E, fitted Water-tight to the pipes T l D and G, andconnected with the same, re- GEORGE BEL bON THURBER' spectively, by thegroove and pin e, and arms In presence of- F F, with cylindricalprojections g g, substan- CHARLES ROBB, tiztlly as and for the purposesspecified. GEORGE OGILVY MOFFATT,

I11 testimony that I claim the foregoing as ()f the city of Montreal,Gentleman.

